Three main methods
- From the top of the deck. After shuffling and cutting, the cards are taken in order from the top of the deck and laid out according to the spread. This is how Waite’s Celtic Cross works: after shuffling and cutting three times, the cards are laid down one after another1. It is the simplest and most consistent method.
- From a fan. The deck is spread across the table in an arc, face down, and the querent picks cards by hand, going by feel. This suits short spreads of 1–3 cards.
- After cutting into piles. The deck is split into three piles and the top card is taken from each — handy for a Three-card spread.
How many cards to draw
Exactly as many as there are positions in the spread you have chosen:
- 1 card — a yes-or-no answer or advice for the day (Yes or No Tarot, Card of the Day);
- 3 cards — a situation as it unfolds (Three-card spread);
- 6–10 cards — a detailed reading (Relationship spread, Celtic Cross).
Extra “clarifying” cards are drawn when a position is unclear. But if you add one to every card, the reading never ends.
Who draws the cards
When you read for yourself, you draw. When you read for someone else, both approaches are common: some tarot readers let the querent pick cards from a fan so they take part in the reading, while others draw the cards themselves. In his description of the Celtic Cross, Waite addresses all instructions to the reader and never mentions the querent cutting or laying out the cards1. Pick one option and stick with it.
Which hand to draw with
The left hand is often recommended: in esoteric tradition it is linked to intuition, the right hand to reason. This is a belief, not a rule — Waite says nothing about the hand1, and there is no evidence that the hand affects the answer. Draw with whichever hand is comfortable for you — what matters is doing it the same way every time.
How to turn a card over
Flip the card sideways, like turning the page of a book, not top to bottom — otherwise you will turn an upright card into a reversed one yourself. You can reveal the cards one at a time, reading each position, or all at once to see the overall picture first.
If a card falls out or sticks
If two cards come out together when you draw, or one falls out of the deck, there are two approaches: treat it as a sign and read it separately, or put it back in the deck and draw again. The key is to decide this before the reading, not after you have seen the card.
Frequently asked questions
Which hand should you use to pull tarot cards?
Traditionally the left hand is recommended, but that is a belief. Draw with whichever hand is comfortable and do it the same way every time.
Can you take tarot cards from the top of the deck?
Yes. That is how the classic Celtic Cross works: the cards are laid out in order after shuffling and cutting the deck1.
How many tarot cards should you pull?
As many as there are positions in the spread: one for a simple answer, three for a situation as it unfolds, up to ten for a detailed reading.
How this article was prepared
This text was written with the help of AI, based on the sources listed below and on the questions people actually search for. Every factual statement — about the history of decks, what a deck contains, what authors wrote — has a footnote. The text was then checked by a separate AI instance that took no part in writing it: it compared the facts with the footnotes, and errors were corrected. The English version is a translation of the original Russian article.
We describe reading practices — how to shuffle, charge or “cleanse” a deck — as traditions and habits of tarot readers, not as proven methods: there is no scientific evidence for divination. Read more on our editorial policy page. Found a mistake? Let us know via the contact form.
Sources
- A. E. Waite. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Part III, § 7: An Ancient Celtic Method of Divination. Choosing the significator, shuffling, the Celtic Cross spread sacred-texts.com
